My Favorite Turkey Brine

Oh, I know how it goes. Every year around this time, I think I have all this time to post Thanksgiving recipes on this little food blog of mine. I think, “It’s not even Halloween yet. I’ve got all the time in the world!” Then it happens. It’s the same every year. We dress up our children in Iron Man and Richard Nixon costumes, go trick-or-treating in our quaint little town, then by the time they’re on their last piece of candy–which is actually like twenty hours later–it’s suddenly Christmas. And I’m looking around my kitchen and my little food blog like, “Okay…what just happened?”

And then I ask my children if they have any candy left because I’m having a wicked sugar craving.

And they tell me to go bake a pie or something. Smart-alec little varmints.

I brine a turkey every year because it’s the right thing to do. Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution for a certain length of time, long enough for the salt to infiltrate the turkey and actually alter the molecular structure of the meat. It doesn’t turn it into a salty mess, either. It just results in a juicy, fantastic turkey. If you’ve never brined a turkey, you’ll just have to trust me on this.

You can buy ready-made brining solutions. I used to buy one at Williams-Sonoma. But making one is a cinch, too. You basically need a bunch of salt and whatever other ingredients you want to throw in. I like to balance the saltiness with the mild sweetness of apple cider (and okay, the not-so-mild sweetness of brown sugar) but you can use whatever you’d like.

A couple of important things to remember, though:

1. Only brine fresh turkeys. Brining a frozen turkey is never a good idea, because frozen turkeys are most typically injected with a sodium solution. There are some organic frozen turkeys (my friend Julie found some at Whole Foods recently) that have a much lower concentration of the sodium solution. Generally speaking, though, you’ll want to brine fresh–not frozen–turkeys.

2. Making gravy from the drippings of a brined turkey can result in a really salty gravy if you’re not careful. In the next post, I’ll show you a few steps that will prevent this from happening.

But for now: let’s brine!

Here’s what you need.

Cut off the top and bottom of each orange.

Carefully slice off the peel in sections.

Mmm. Fragrant to the max.

Strip the leaves off the rosemary sprigs, measure the salt, sugar, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Inhale. Exhale. Thank the Lord above for the aromas that spring forth from the earth.

At least that’s what I do every time I make this turkey brine.

(Oh, and you’ll need some minced garlic. I just forgot that step. Happens.)

Pour three cups of apple cider into a stock pot.

Add two gallons of water…

A cup and a half of salt…

Two cups of brown sugar…

Bay leaves…

Rosemary…

Peppercorns…

And orange peel.

And the forgotten garlic.

Loveliness!

Now, bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature; feel free to stick it in the fridge or freezer halfway through the cooling down process

This is an alien hand (left) and a brining bag.

I’m obsessed with brining bags. Obsessed!

It’s all I think about anymore.

Here’s the turkey inside the brining bag.

Once the brine solution is cooled, pour it over the turkey.

Now you’ll just need to seal up the bag and refrigerate it for at least sixteen hours. Twenty-four hours is better, though, especially for a large turkey. Place the turkey, breast side down, in the bag, but 2/3 of the way through the brining, flip the turkey in the bag to make sure it brines evenly. Just pretend you’re an obstetrician and you’re trying to get a breach baby to flip!

Note: This is enough brine for a 20-pound turkey. If you feel as though the turkey needs even more liquid, just top it off with more water and it’ll be fine. If you’re using a much smaller turkey or a turkey breast, just halve the recipe.

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Comments

I’ve never brined a turkey, but I think I might just try it this year. It always seemed like a daunting task, but now that I see it in black and white, it couldn’t be simpler. Thank you🙂

TrishInFL

I’ve never brined a turkey, but I think I might just try it this year. It always seemed like a daunting task, but now that I see it in black and white, it couldn’t be simpler. Thank you🙂

Dana

Does the ratio of brine to turkey size matter? I brined two years ago and the turkey came out too salty for my taste. It was moist though. Just wondering if I should cut back on the salt for a smaller bird? Thanks!

Dana

Does the ratio of brine to turkey size matter? I brined two years ago and the turkey came out too salty for my taste. It was moist though. Just wondering if I should cut back on the salt for a smaller bird? Thanks!

http://www.howsweeteats.com Jessica @ How Sweet It Is

I’m doing my first turkey this year and have never brined one. I think I will give it a shot!

http://www.howsweeteats.com Jessica @ How Sweet It Is

I’m doing my first turkey this year and have never brined one. I think I will give it a shot!

http://www.thecoupongoddess.com The Coupon Goddess

Using a brine is foreign to me, but I think I might give it a whirl this year since I’m hosting Thanksgiving. It loos easy enough!

Wow. How is it that you can even make a raw turkey in a brine look beautiful???

http://homegrowncountrygirlfood.blogspot.com homegrown countrygirl

Wow. How is it that you can even make a raw turkey in a brine look beautiful???

Beth B

Can you brine a turkey breast? Would you just divide the recipe in half?

Beth B

Can you brine a turkey breast? Would you just divide the recipe in half?

http://www.fromsingletomarried.com Tabitha (FromSingletoMarried)

I, for one, appreciate the early recipes so that we can start practicing now! 🙂

http://www.fromsingletomarried.com Tabitha (FromSingletoMarried)

I, for one, appreciate the early recipes so that we can start practicing now! 🙂

http://www.momskitchengadgets.com Kelly @ Mom's Kitchen Gadgets

Turkey is one of my all-time favorite dishes but I have to admit I have never tried brining one. Maybe I’ll give it a shot – you make it look so easy!

http://www.momskitchengadgets.com Kelly @ Mom's Kitchen Gadgets

Turkey is one of my all-time favorite dishes but I have to admit I have never tried brining one. Maybe I’ll give it a shot – you make it look so easy!

mmotherof2

I just might try brining a turkey this year! I love the addition of sweetness to yours-the brown sugar, cider and oranges will certainly smell awesome!
Okay- I’m a little slow on the uptake- where would I find a brining bag for a large turkey???

mmotherof2

I just might try brining a turkey this year! I love the addition of sweetness to yours-the brown sugar, cider and oranges will certainly smell awesome!
Okay- I’m a little slow on the uptake- where would I find a brining bag for a large turkey???

sallyk

I’ve never brined a turkey, either. I’m down to cooking a turkey tenderloin now.

sallyk

I’ve never brined a turkey, either. I’m down to cooking a turkey tenderloin now.

http://www.wetakeiteasy.com Gracia

For those of us who live in countries that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and that actually don’t have whole turkeys in the stores… could we do this with a chicken?

http://www.wetakeiteasy.com Gracia

For those of us who live in countries that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and that actually don’t have whole turkeys in the stores… could we do this with a chicken?

Theresa in Alberta

I saw them in the same isle and section of my grocery store where you buy ziploc and other plastic type bags, plastic wrap, tin foil etc. I would start looking now and you may just find one in time for thanksgiving.

Theresa in Alberta

I saw them in the same isle and section of my grocery store where you buy ziploc and other plastic type bags, plastic wrap, tin foil etc. I would start looking now and you may just find one in time for thanksgiving.

Alison

I am going to try this this year. I have always wanted to try brining, and this one just looks like it will taste and smell and be delicious.